To increase affordable housing construction, Colorado Democrat Governor Jared Polis is pushing for legislation that will see more such construction on church properties.
In his State of the State address, Polis referenced a project seeing the building of nearly 80 residential units on property belonging to the Solid Rock Christian Center in Colorado Springs. Funding for that project was secured through the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority.
Noting that new affordable housing construction in the Centennial State continues to lag, Polis remarked: “To narrow the gap between supply and demand, we must continue to expand choices, speed up timelines, and reduce costs for new housing to come on the market.”
To that end, the Governor said lawmakers should “lean into innovation and streamline the process for modular housing to be built faster and at lower cost.”
On the church projects, Polis remarked that the state should allow “faith-based and educational partners to use land they have to build housing we need.”
Polis also called on lawmakers to pass legislation that will encourage apartment complexes in a variety of formats. “Rather than force developers to build massive one-size-fits-all apartments that take up entire city blocks, let’s instead empower them to build apartments or homes that fit the neighborhood.”
In the thorny area of construction defects legislation related to condo units, Polis noted that in recent years condo liability reform has been “stifled on both sides.” In response, the Governor said, “Let’s turn the page and have a real dialogue about what is preventing condos from being built and solve it.”
Polis said he saw no reason why lawmakers can’t fashion legislation that “protects homeowners’ rights when there is a defect but makes it less expensive and cumbersome for builders of all kinds to start projects and deliver housing.”
Prospects for the Governor’s proposals in this year’s legislative session are currently unclear. But on the opening day of this year’s session, Republican Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen charged that new construction in the state is hampered by excessive regulation, pointing to a recent Colorado Chamber of Commerce study that listed the state as the sixth highest in the country for housing construction regulations.
Lundeen added that he and many of his fellow lawmakers are committed to reviewing existing regulations and getting rid of those that are hampering development.
January 16, 2025
By Garry Boulard